Monday, November 30, 2009

Trip

Our trip to California started well, and then went downhill. We began by taking only 55 minutes to drive to the airport, check in, go through security, and arrive at our [far-flung] gate. We watched a fantastic first half of the Vikings-Bears game. We didn't understand how the seating on the plane worked; no reserved seats, just take-your-pick. We were last on the plane and it was full. When the man next to me noticed how I was talking to Maggie and trying to help her figure out how to buckle her seat belt, he offered to switch places with her so the two of us could sit together. That was SO nice!

Layover wasn't long. On the second stint of the flight, Maggie managed to find two seats next to each other, and she sat next to the window. Hooray!

It took us three hours from the time we landed in Sacramento until we arrived at our room in the Kiwanis House. Three hours! There was a screw-up with the SuperShuttle reservations. When we checked in, they told us it would be a 7-minute wait for the shuttle. They promise a 15-minute maximum wait. It was an hour before we had our van. Then it took 45 minutes to drive to the house (a 20-minute drive if you're not making multiple stops around town for other passengers) and about 25 minutes to check in to the house. We didn't get to bed until what 12:30 PST (2:30 our time).

Today went better. Maggie had her tests and MRI. I was planning to do a lot of editing on CCA materials, but have been having trouble with it. I'm also required for interviews with doctors more than I'd anticipated.

Three nice things I've noticed about where we are:Gorgeous weather today.How polite the motorists are to pedestrians and bikers!The black people here speak in standard English, not the ghetto-speak which is so common at home.

Sandy, during lunch-break we had to walk about 2/3 of a mile to a place where there were restaurants and a grocer. What a lovely walk! And the building with the MRI was a 10-minute walk from the main building we're in. The research assistant took us on the outdoor route the whole way, never detouring through buildings; she said this walk is her favorite part of Mondays. I agree.